MARYVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 11, 2006) - The ETSU men's cross country team finished 10th out of 25 teams Saturday morning at the NCAA South Regional, hosted by the University of Tennessee. The 10K race was held at the Lambert Acres Golf course as Florida State took home the team title with 67 points. Alabama (88 points), Florida (100 points), Tennessee (108 points) and Georgia (142) rounded out the top spots.

"One of our goals heading into the season was to finish in the top-10 at the regional, and I am very pleased with how the men competed today, said head coach David Walker. They ran tough today on a difficult course, and competed strong against a very difficult field."

The Bucs were led once again by sophomore Michael Deren (Blasdell, N.Y.) who crossed the finish line in 39th place with a time of 33:00.8. Deren led the Bucs across the finish line in all six meets this season. Sophomore Jeff Crane (Taylors, S.C.) and junior Jordan Ladd (Lyn, Ontario) finished in 55th and 66th respectively. Crane crossed the line in 33:26.8 and Ladd completed the course with a mark of 33:50.1.

Freshman Barnabas Kirui of Ole Miss claimed the individual title, finishing the course with a time of 30:43.1. Florida State won the team competition as the Seminoles saw four of their runners finish the race in the top-15.

The fourth runner to finish for the Bucs was senior Josh Hicks (Riceville, Tenn.), crossing the line with a mark of 34:35.3. J Penny (Telford, Tenn.) and David McDaniel (Elizabethton, Tenn.) rounded out the field for the Bucs, as Penny finished the race in 34:46.6 and McDaniel completed the course in 36:42.1.

"I am pleased with the way Ladd and Penny looked today, because they have battled through injuries all season and ran a great race," added Walker. "In order to finish in the top-10 we needed solid performances from them and that is what we got. This was a good way to end the season and hopefully we can build on this for next year."